Our educational program encourages curiosity, exploration, cooperation, risk-taking, and a love of learning. It is integrated across academic disciplines and incorporates a project-based approach in which our students develop academic skills through inquiry and collaboration.

Throughout this school year, our eighth grade students have served as passionate advocates for immigration reform, collecting the signatures of 3,000 Bay Area residents in support of loosened restrictions. The culminating moment of this project took... Read more

What a night it was as our seventh graders hosted Soup for Change just before spring break. The inaugural dinner was an astounding success and a true testament to our school's mission of cultivating passionate citizens who change the world.
After... Read more

Recently, Sunny (the mother of one of our Seventh Grade Green students) was a guest speaker in her daughter's class. Sunny has a rich history in the criminal justice system and is an innovative reformer in the field. She is the founder of the SF... Read more

Every year, Eighth Grade Humanities teacher Terry Ashkinos leads his students in an interesting and challenging project: the creation of an entire book of short stories! With a help of a few prompts, each student produces rough drafts of three... Read more

The partnership between CDS and our neighbors at the Columbia Park Boys & Girls Club goes back many years. Since the early 2000s, the site on Guerrero Street, just a stone’s throw away from the sunny yard at our main campus, has provided outdoor... Read more

Many CDS students hold a passionate commitment to preserving our natural resources. In 2017, our eighth grade students collected signatures for a petition in favor of green energy use and traveled to Washington D.C. to present it to Rep. Nancy... Read more

Back in December, our Middle School Student Leadership Team organized a clothing drive for St. Anthony's, a local non-profit organization that provides food, clothing, and medical services to people experiencing homelessness. It was a great... Read more

Last week, a team of CDS educators had the opportunity to attend the 31st annual People of Color Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Our nine-person team was one of the larger contingents at the conference, and it featured members with a multitude... Read more

Last weekend, members of our school community took part in a beloved CDS tradition: the All-Family Diversity Potluck. On a lovely Saturday morning, dozens of families gathered on the 333 Dolores yard to eat lunch, make new friends, and share... Read more

As we move into the second month of the school year, our students have already had some pretty exciting experiences. Last week was no exception, as the Middle School classes expanded their horizons beyond the school campus. Our seventh graders... Read more

This week, our entire middle school community viewed the third and final Drama Showcase of the year. At the end of each trimester, the students from every grade in the middle school write and act in a short play that engages passionately with social... Read more

With the school year drawing to a close, our seventh grade students put the finishing touch on a project that has been brewing all year. Last October, the seventh graders visited “Forced from Home,” a traveling exhibition that spreads awareness... Read more

Last week, we were honored to have Minnijean Brown-Trickey—one of the Little Rock Nine who desegregated the Arkansas public school system in 1957—visit CDS. She and eight other African-American students persevered through racist abuse to become the... Read more

Our eighth grade students hit the ground running after spring break: on the very first day after school resumed, they took an early-morning flight across the country on the annual field trip to Washington DC.
After October 2017’s mass shooting in... Read more

Last week, CDS hosted "Anne Frank: A History for Today," an international traveling exhibit that is presented around the world more than 150 times per year. It tells the story of the Frank family against the background of the Holocaust and the... Read more

Something magical happened recently in first grade: live animals in the classroom! Our First Grade Hawks students enjoyed a visit from the Wildcare organization and got to see up close an American kestrel, a northern spotted owl and, of course, a... Read more

Joining the chorus of millions of other students around the country, CDS middle schoolers took to the streets on Wednesday, March 14 in support of stricter gun control. Each year, our eighth graders choose an important political issue on which to... Read more

Last week, the entire eighth grade class got a chance to work with one of our city’s greatest institutions. The San Francisco Mime Troupe, which has combined performance art with social criticism for nearly 60 years, sent two of its longest-serving... Read more

Earlier this month, our middle schoolers ascended the Founders’ Hall stage for one of CDS’ most entertaining events: the Drama Showcase, which features short plays written, designed, and acted entirely by students. Coordinated by Middle School Drama... Read more

Last week, our Middle School Student Leadership Team welcomed Phylicia Hisel from Simply the Basics to our campus. Simply the Basics is a local organization that aims to combat homelessness in San Francisco by facilitating the donation of basic... Read more

CDS does its best to be on the forefront of environmental justice, and many of our recent projects—including a petition to Nancy Pelosi and the installation of the weather station and solar panels on the middle school roof—reflect our commitment.... Read more

Last week, more than 80 CDS faculty, staff, and administrators visited the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles for a professional development conference. The two-day program included an interactive exhibit depicting the horrors of the Holocaust as... Read more

Next month, as part of our longtime partnership with SPEAK (Speakers for Parents, Educators, and Knowledge) Susan Cain will present "Empowering Introverted Kids in a Noisy World." We know that this event will lend a valuable perspective on... Read more

Earlier this month, we learned that the 601 Dolores building has received a 2017 Preservation Design Award from the California Preservation Foundation, celebrating those who achieve the highest level of craftsmanship in maintaining and redesigning... Read more

As many members of our community have already heard, our middle school campus at 601 Dolores Street is about to receive an exciting addition. During the first week of our summer break, the Albion Power Company is going to install a ten-panel Solar... Read more